Category Archives

WICS kicked off the 2016 winter quarter on Monday January 4th with a brief session of introductions and announcements and also some fun board games to welcome WICS members back to school. WICS co-presidents Angela Liu and Stephanie Eng introduced the board and new committee members and gave an overview of the events that we will have this quarter, including company info sessions, social nights, mock technical interviews, and crepe booths. During the meeting, WICS members had a chance to win some cool swag bags that were raffled off. We were happy to have over 50 people come out to the first general meeting of the quarter, and we hope to see the same and many more faces at our future events!

On Monday of Week 9 of the 2015 Fall Quarter (November 23rd), WICS hosted the quarterly ICS Potluck for all of the ICS clubs. More than 30 members from all the ICS clubs enjoyed a night filled with good food and fun games. Everyone brought lots of delicious food to share, while they enjoyed games such as Werewolf, Taboo, and Cards Against Humanity. It was a great way for members to come hang out and get some stress relief before heading into the last of week of the quarter before finals.

On Monday of Week 8 of the 2015 Fall Quarter (November 16th), WICS hosted an info session with guest speakers from the electricity company SoCal Edison. WICS members were able to learn more about the structure of the company and the available internships and jobs for recent graduates that SoCal Edison has to offer. WICS members also earned some cool swag for asking questions during the Q&A part of the info session. We would especially like to thank the SoCal Edison representatives that came out to host this info session!

On Monday, November 9th, ProSky hosted an event with WICS. The evening began with an interactive workshop which included building the highest tower with a deck of cards and building the tallest straw tower in groups of 4-5 people. After all of that fun, Crystal Huang, co-founder and CEO of ProSky, gave a presentation of insights and hands-on tips on how to position yourself to achieve your dream job. ProSky is a startup that helps individuals get the “work experience” that employers are looking for through participating in training series made by top professionals and working on real projects for companies internationally. We would like to thank Crystal Huang (CEO), Alexis Ang (Head of Marketing), and Julie Huang (Head of University Relations) for taking time to come out to WICS and introducing ProSky to us. Thank you to all of those that participated in the building activities and hope you’re as excited as we are to try new projects through ProSky!

Last Monday on November 2nd, our first meeting of November, WICS and non-profit organization, Girls Inc., hosted an info session to talk about what Girls Inc. does. The evening started with a presentation about its values and opportunities for students. Then we concluded with a quick Q&A session with the representatives. WICS would like to thank Jessica and Mark for coming and introducing Girls Inc. to our members. We would also like to thank all the students who came and are interested in volunteering at Girls Inc.

Last Monday on October 26th, WICS and the international tech consulting company Capgemini hosted an info session to introduce WICS members to the company culture and goals. The night included a short introduction presentation, a time of Q&A for a panel of Capgemini representatives, and a fun time of networking at the end. We’d like to thank all the Capgemini representatives that gave their time to speak at the info session and network with the students. Thank you to all for coming out!

Also, WICS had its first crepes sale of the year this last Wednesday, October 28th! Thanks to everyone who stopped by, and we hope to see you again next time for some yummy crepes!

On Monday, October 19, WICS held a social night of board games and movies for 34 students with lots of snacks and drinks. WICS members watched Beetlejuice while playing games like Werewolf and UNO. It was a great way to return to WICS meetings after attending the Grace Hopper Conference Celebration of Women in Computing for the previous week. With midterms coming up members were able to take sometime away and relax with each other. We hope everyone had a great time!

What better way is there to bring students together than through a competitive night of trivia? On Monday, October 5th, WICS Games connected company representatives and 70 students together for a fun night of answering computer science related question. To start off Round 1, the groups introduced themselves to their groups, answered WICS and UCI related trivia, and made up group names and chants. Personal favorites include “Drake’s Right Hand”, “Hashbrowns” and “WIC[s]IPEDIA”. After Round 2, there was a break, which allowed everyone to eat Subway sandwiches and cookies sponsored by Hitachi Consulting. Students also took this opportunity to network with the company reps.

In the end, after 5 rounds of questions, it was Pink Squid who took the win with 71 points, 7.5 points over the next leading team. They were the first to get beautiful, beautiful swag. In the end, everyone left with full stomachs, great prizes, new friends, and a greater knowledge of computer science. If that’s not what happiness is, then I don’t know what is.

We’d like to thank company representatives from Adobe (WICS’s gold sponsor). Blizzard Entertainment, Hitachi Consulting, Pariveda Solutions, and Western Digital for making the night truly spectacular. To the students: thank you for coming, and we hope you had a good time. See you next year for another WICS Games.

WICS’s first general meeting blasted off last Wednesday on September 30 with over 100 attendees fed by yummy Costco pizzas. The WICS Co-President Angela Liu and Vice-President Shirley Zhu began the meeting introducing the organization’s goals, the hardworking committee and board members, past events, and the events planned for the current Fall Quarter. Afterwards, WICS ended the meeting by putting on our traditional raffling of various swag prizes, including an Android plushie, swag bags filled with mystery prizes, and Adobe and WICS shirts. General members learned how WICS could support them throughout their time here at UCI and be a place to make lasting friendships and experiences.

Then WICS switched gears to hold the mentorship mixer. This is where underclassmen meet with upperclassmen and graduate students from the various disciplines under the school of ICS to ask them about classes, internships, research, and life. The mixer started off with a human bingo game so that everyone has a chance to get to know one another. After that, mentors were directed to sit in tables with their respective interests (Artificial Intelligence, Art/Graphics, Algorithms, Database, Networking, Development, and Research). Mentees could choose any table to go to and talk to the mentors about the topic (or about life in general) and there were 3 rounds of rotation to allow them to explore various interests. The mixer allowed mentees to get to know the mentors and the different fields and helped them decide whom they want as their mentors.

WICS would like to thank our members for coming out and also the awesome people that volunteered their time to set up the chairs and tables!

Even though it’s already week 6, midterm season continued. Rather than bombarding the members with information, WICS decided to host a board game night to allow members to socialize and relax. About 15 people showed up and relaxed while chatting with other members and playing board games like Apples to Apples, Werewolf, and Taboo.